Not your standard '2005 in review' thread

[Nereid]

You can read lots of these - http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1649_1.asp", for example - I thought it might be fun to take a different view!

What were the most notable non-discoveries for 2005?

What were the most outstanding failures?

I'll go first. In the second category, I nominate http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1564_1.asp".

Oh, and one more category - what was, in 2005, the most http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=serendipity" discovery in astronomy?

 

[Chronos]

Nereid, why not take the best of the year? We wade through the worst every day. You read all the papers.

 

[DarkEternal]

I will second the loss of the X-ray spectrometer. I was actually interning at GSFC this summer under one of the instrument scientists involved with the project, and was there when the failure occurred. He was extremely disappointed, especially since the calibration results came back looking so great.

 

[Nereid]

Nereid, why not take the best of the year? We wade through the worst every day. You read all the papers.

Chronos, why not start your own thread on the best? I thought about it, and came up with some ideas ('which astronomy-related news item in 2005 stuck longest in your mind?', 'which caused, for you, the strongest feelings of wonder and delight, as you read it?', 'which lead to the most passionate/delightful/absorbing/{insert your favourite adjective here} conversations with co-workers, fellow students, family members, boyfriend(s)/girlfriend(s)?'). Feel free to take your pick